Insulating material



April 26, 1960 WARP INSULATING MATERIAL s Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 19. 1955 INVENTOR.

M May),

Hc'vro H. WARP INSULATING MATERIAL April 26, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 19, 1955 llnit INSULATING MATERIAL Harold Warp, Chicago, 111., assignor to Flex-O-Glass, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application September 19, 1955, Serial No. 535,017

' 6 Claims. (Cl. 154-45) This invention relates to an insulating material and in particular to an insulating material for use in a building wall.

A typical construction of a building wall includes a'bottom member, equally spaced, vertically extending studs, a top member and outer siding or sheathing. Material forming the interior wall surface is secured to the bottom and top members and studs on the inner side. Such construction results in the formation of a chimney-like space between the stud members. This hollow space, in cold weather, allows entrapped air to rise along the relatively warm interior wall surface and flow downwardly along the colder exterior siding thus forming a circulating air column which tends to transfer heat outwardly between the inner wall surface and the outer siding. In warm weather, a reverse flow occurs wherein heat is transferred undesirably inwardly. This air movement further tends to deposit dirt and foreign materialon the interior wall surface. In some instances, fire stops comprising horizontal members extending between the vertical stud members at varying heights above the bottom member are used to limit such air movement. Normally, however, only a limited number of such fire stops are used as the use thereof is relatively costly.

To provide insulation between the exterior and interior wall elements, it is ordinarily the practice to install in the wall space a non-inflammable, insulating material having a porous or loose construction which provides a multiplicity of small air voids in lieu of the single large space or channel. Such material is costly and, further, tends to cause the transfer of moisture from the inner wall element to the outer siding causing blistering and other deformation of any protective coatings, as paint, placed'on the outer surface of the siding.

It is therefore the principal object of my invention to provide a new and improved insulation material.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved insulating material affording a multiplicity of air chambers of medium small size as distinguished from the minute cells of conventional insulation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an insulating material which is easily manufactured of inexpensive material and requires only limited quantities of the material. Y -A further object of my invention is to provide an insulating material of the character described which can be easily installed during the construction of a building wall.

Patented Apr. 26, 1960 Other features and advantages of this invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an insulating material embodying the invention broken away in parts and shown installed in a building wall;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the insulating material in the process of installation'in a building wall;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view thereof taken approximately along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of the insulating material installed in a wall having a minimum thickness;

Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of the insulating material installed in a wall having a somewhat greater thickness than that of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a schematic representation of the insulating material installed in a wall having a greater thickness than that of Fig. 5 r

Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of a modified form of the insulating material;

Fig. 8 is a schematic representation of another form of the insulating material;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the insulating material;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of Q the insulating material having a different construction from that of Figure 9;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the insulating material having still another construction; and

Fig. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the insulating material having yet another construction.

Referring now to the drawings, one exemplary embodiment of my invention is shown to comprise afroll 11 of flexible insulating material generally designated 10, which when unrolled and spaced maybe attached to the members comprising a building wall namely vertical studs 12 and 13, siding 14, horizontal base support 15, and horizontal top members 26. Insulating material 10, when installed, comprises a plurality of horizontally spaced, vertically extending, planar elements or sheets having a series of interconnecting elements forming a series of chambers as ltla and 10b and dividing the space between the wall members into a plurality of smaller spaces. So that installation may be simple and economical, material 10 is made to accommodate any of the standard wall thicknesses and stud spacings.

As can best be seen in Figs. 1 to 6, the preferred embodiment of insulating material 10 comprises a continuous front sheet 16 to which are hingedly attached, at spaced intervals, a plurality of panels 16. As the structure, of each panel is identical, the specific description will be drawn to one such panel only, numerals having letter suffixes being used to designate corresponding elements of the other panels shown.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an Panell6 is provided with a connecting portion 17 attached to sheet 16 by a hinged connection 18. At a distance of the depth of wall studs 12 and 13 from connection 18, panel 16' is hingedly secured as at 19, to a preceding panel. A mid-portion 20 of panel 16', extending from connection 19, is attached at 19a to a succeeding panel and forms a portion of the rear sheet or element 33. An outer portion, or end, 21 extends hingedly from connection 19a. The width of insulating material 10 is made equal to the normal center-to-center spacing between wall studs. As the inside spacing between the studs is normally smaller by several inches than the center-to-center spacing, panel 16' is provided with a series of slits 27 along its-edges forming flaps 28 on' connecting portion 17, flaps 29 on mid-portion 20 and flaps 30 on end 21, which may be folded at n'ght angles to the planes of the respective panel portions. To facilitate understanding of the structure of insulating mate rial 10, the junction between connecting portion 17 and mid-portion 20 of panel 16 is identified in Fig. 2 as 3-1 and the junction between the mid-portion 20 and end portion 21 is identified as- J-2. The corresponding junction between connecting portion 17a and mid-portion 26a of the subsequent panel is identified as J-1' and the junction between mid-portion 20a and end portion 21a is identified as I-2.

When insulating material is installed in the wall section, it foims a series of air chambers typically as shown at 10a in Fig. l. erally by the studs 12 and 13. The front or inner wall portion is bounded by panel 16 which extends completely across the space between the studs. The bottom boundary is formed by connecting portions 17 extending generally horizontally from panel 16 across the thickness of the wall studs. The upper boundary is formed by the succeeding panel connecting portion 17a which is similarly extended between the studs. The rear or outer boundary of chamber 10a is formed by the mid-portion 20 of panel 16 which extends generally parallel to front sheet 16. Flaps 23, 29 and 30 are folded over so as to have snug contact with studs 12 and 13. Panel outer end 21 extends behind the succeeding panel and acts as a means for connecting the panel 16' to the outer siding 14.

The installation of insulating material 10 is extremely simple. The roll 11 of material 10 is placed adjacent the wall section wherein it is desired to install material 10. The free end of the roll is then positioned so that connecting portion 17 rests on the upper surface of the horizontal base member and with connection 19 adjacent the siding 14. The panel outer end extending from connection 19 is then secured to the siding 14 as by a staple 22. Additional material is unrolled from roll 11 to allow placement of panel 16 against the siding 14 and the attachment of panel outer end 21 to siding 14 by staples 22. As panel mid-portion has the same length as the portion of front sheet 16 between connections 18 and 18a, from sheet 16 may now be secured to the inner or front surfaces of the studs 12 and 13 by suitable means such as tacks 23 with the resultant rectangular cross section chamber lila being formed. It is not mandatory that front sheet 16 be secured to the studs at this time as the succeeding panel 16 may be secured to the siding 14 by properly stapling end 21a to the siding in the manner described above whether or not the front sheet is secured to the studs. Thus the entire series of air chambers could be formed between the horizontal base member 15 and the horizontal top member with all tacking of the front sheet 16 being performed subsequent to the attachment of all panels 16'.

Front sheet 16 may be cut laterally just below connection 18 so that any excess insulating material can be removed at the bottom connection. In making the connection at the horizontal top member '26, panel 16 may be brought forwardly and secured to the top members Chamber 10a is bounded lat-- mum of labor.

4 It is unnecessary to cut the various sections of insulat' ing material 10 before installation in the wall. The material may be merely unrolled from roll 11 and installed as indicated above, working upwardly to the ceiling where it may be cut. Where the spacing between the studs 12 and 13 is less than normal, one edge of the material It} may be trimmed as it is unrolled and the necessary slots 27 cut into panel 16 where desired.

By providing a plurality of small air chambers the effective insulating quality of my insulating material is made considerable. The material is easily installed by simple means. such as staples and tacks and with a mini- Further, a relatively large number of fire stops are provided when insulating material 10 is installed as described above in a wall section.

The manufacture of insulating material 10 is extremely simple and economical. With front sheet 16 extended preferably horizontally, one panel 16 is secured thereto at its end connection 18 and extended in an overlying relationship with the front sheet. The next preceding panel is then secured to the front sheet at its connection 18 at a distance equal to the length of mid-portion 20 from the point of attachment ofthe first panel to the sheet. This second panel is allowed to extend in overlying relationship to front sheet 16 and with its outer end 21 overlying the lower section of the first panel mid-portion 20. The second panel is then secured to the first panel at connection 19. This simple process is then repeated until the entire roll 11 has been manufactured.

In Figure 7 is shown a modified form of insulating material 110 which is similar to insulating material 10 except that a continuous rear sheet 133 is provided in lieu of the series of interconnected panel mid-portions 20. Connecting elements 117 are arranged to extend between front sheet 110 and rear sheet 133 in the same manner as connecting portions 17 of the material 10, and secur-. ing elements 121, pivotally attached to rear sheet 133 at connections 119, are provided for securing the insulating material 119 to the wall sheeting in the same manner as are panel outer ends 21. The installation of insulating material 110 is similar in all respects to the installation of insulating material It).

In Figure 8 is shown an insulating material 210 which is similar to insulating material 110 except that between front sheet 216 and rear sheet 233 additional intermediate sheets 234 are provided which are interconnected one to the other by connecting elements 217, 217a, 21712, to form a large number of compartments. As is obvious,

xthe specific number of intermediate sheets 234 may be together with front sheet 16 as seen in Figs. 4, 5, and 6.

Insulating material 10 is adapted for installation in building walls wherein variations in the wall size are had. To accommodate diiferences in the thickness of the wall the hinged connection of panelend 21 is utilized. Thus, by rotating end 21 the necessary amount about connection 19, the end 21 may be connected to the siding i4 horizontally outwardly of mid-portion 20 as seen in Figs. 5 and 6. Thus, walls having a thickness of twice the normal wall thickness may be accommodated with my insulating material, the only change in installation thereof being the rotation of panel end 21 the requisite amount. Where the panel ends are thus rotated, additional air chambers such as chambers 24 and. 25 in Fig. 5 and chambers 31 and 32 in Fig. 6 are formed similar to the chambers 10a and 10 formed between the panels 16' and front sheet 16.

varied as desired. Securing elements 221 are provided which allow the installation of insulating material 210 in the same manner as that of insulating material 10.

Each of the disclosed embodiments of my insulating material may be formed into rolls 11 of any suitable size commersurate with merchandising, stocking, and material handling requirements, the width of the roll, however, being determined, as described above, by the center-tocenterspacing of the wall studs with which it is to be used. The insulating material may be formed of a suitable fire resistant, moisture impervious, flexible material, such as insulating paper as shown in Figure 9. Another preferred material 136, as seen in Figure 10, comprises aluminum foil 136a laminated to a thin sheet of base plastic 1361) such as polyethylene or vinyl resin. In this form the insulating material has high heat reflective qualities and is highly tear resistant.

Another preferred material 137 is shown in Figure 11 wherein a sandwich of two sheets of insulating paper 137:: with a layer 137b of asphalt or tar therebetween is provided. To improve the tear resistance of such a material, a modified form 138, as seen in Fig. 12 wherein reinforcing members such as wires or strings 1380 are imbedded in the tar or asphalt layer 1381) sandwiched between layers ofin'sulating paper 138a, may be used.

Any suitable means for making the connections, such as connections 18, 19 and 19a may be used. I have found, however, that with the paper type insulating materials, such as materials 135, 137 and 138, glued connections are entirely satisfactory. Because of the ease with which polyethylene or vinyl resin plastics may be heat sealed, a very satisfactory connection may be obtained in material 136 by that method. Because of the high flexibility and relatively thin structure of the material 136, it may be readily folded over wherever necessary to permit the facial juxtaposition of the plastic portions of the sheets in making the heat sealed connections.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in theconstruction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. An insulating material for use'in a building wall having a pair of spaced, vertically extending studs and and outer siding extending transversely between said studs, said material comprising: an elongated front sheet of flexible material having a transverse extent greater than the spacing between said studs and having longitudinal edge portions extending in the plane of the sheet and adapted to be secured to said studs; and a plurality of elongated flexible panels having a width equal to the spacing between said studs and secured to said sheet at longitudinally spaced intervals, each panel having at least three longitudinally related portions including a connecting portion secured to said sheet for hinged movement about a line transversely of the sheet and to arrange the panel in longitudinal alignment with the front sheet, a mid-portion extending from said connecting portion and having a length comparable to the distance between the points of attachment to said sheet of successive panels, and an outer end hingedly secured to said mid-portion to extend freely therefrom and adapted to be secured to said siding, said connecting portion being joined to the midportion at a first junction and said mid-portion being joined to said end portion at a second junction adjacent panels being securedto each other by a hinged connection of the first junction of one panel to the second junction of a preceding panel, whereby each of said mid-portions extends parallel to said front sheet to form a continuous series of interconnected panel portions.

2. The insulating material of claim 1 wherein said connecting portion has a length substantially equal to the extension of said stud members from said siding.

3. Insulating material, of the character described, comprising: an elongated sheet of flexible insulating material adapted to be extended longitudinally vertically; a first panel having a connecting portion hingedly connected at one end to said sheet to extend in a horizontal plane transversely perpendicular to said sheet, a mid-portion having one end connected at a first junction to the other end of the connecting portion to extend longitudinally, vertically and parallel to said sheet, and an end portion having one end hingedly connected at a second junction to the other end of the mid-portion and extending freely therefrom; and a second panel similar to said first panel including a connecting portion having one end hingedly connected at one end to said sheet at a distance from said one end of the connecting portion of the first panel equal to the length of said mid-portion and to extend parallel to the first panel connecting portion, the other end of the second panel connecting portion being secured to the second junction of the first panel.

4. Insulating material of the character described, comprising: an elongated front sheet; a plurality of similar panels each including a longitudinally related connecting portion, mid-portion, and end portion, said connecting portion being joined to the mid-portion at a first junction and said mid-portion being joined to said end portion at a second junction; a connection hingedly joining the end of the connecting portion of each panel opposite said first junction to the front sheet to extend the panel in longitudinal alignment with the front sheet, the connection of each panel to the front sheet being spaced from the connection of the adjacent panels a distance equal to the length of the panel mid-portion; and a connector hingedly joining said first junction of each panel to the second junction of the immediately preceding panel, each end i portion extending freely from said second junction, and the portion of the insulating material subsequent to each junction being extendible away from the end portion to permit the end portion to be accessible from the sheet side of the insulating material for seriatim seeming thereof at intervals corresponding to the length of the mid-portion. 1

5. The insulating material of claim 4 wherein the sheet and panels are flexible to permit the portions of the insulating material subsequent to each junction to be extended away from the end portions.

6. Insulating material of the character described, comprising: means expandible to form a continuous row of joined compartments; and a plurality of securing elements connected to a rear face of said means at intervals spaced in the direction of the row, said means being flexible to permit seriatim access to each securing elementfby a flexing of the means forwardly away from each securing element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,651,539 Olson Dec. 6, 1927 1,975,842 Gillett et a1. Oct. 9, 1934 2,099,961 McLaughlin Nov. 23, 1937 2,251,585 Finck Aug. 5, 1941 2,332,287 Zalkind Oct. 19, 1943 2,677,496 Maynes May 4, 1954 2,750,313 Schwartz et a1 June 12, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 583,456 Great Britain Dec. 18, 1946 1,093,619 France May 6, 1955 

1. AN INSULATING MATERIAL FOR USE IN A BUILDING WALL HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED, VERTICALLY EXTENDING STUDS AND AND OUTER SIDING EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY BETWEEN SAID STUDS, SAID MATERIAL COMPRISING: AND ELONGATED FRONT SHEET OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING A TRANSVERSE EXTENT GREATER THAN THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID STUDS AND HAVING LONGITUDINAL EDGE PORTIONS EXTENDING IN THE PLANE OF THE SHEET AND ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO SAID STUDS, AND APLURALITY OF ELONGATED FLEXIBLE PANELS HAVING A WIDTH EQUAL TO THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID STUDS AND SECURED TO SAID SHEET AT LONGITUDINALLY SPACED INTERVALS, EACH PANEL HAVING AT LEAST THREE LONGITUDINALLY RELATED PORTIONS INCLUDING A CONNECTING PORTION SECURED TO SAID SHEET FOR HINGED MOVEMENT ABOUT A LINE TRANSVERSELY OF THE SHEET AND TO ARRANGE THE PANEL IN LONGITUDINAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE FRONT SHEET, A MID-PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID CONNECTING PORTION AND HAVING A LENGTH COMPARABLE TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE POINTS OF ATTACHMENT TO SAID SHEET OF SUCCESSIVE PANELS, AND AN OUTER END HINGEDLY SECURED TO SAID MID-PORTION TO EXTEND FREELY THEREFROM AND ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO SAID SIDING, SAID CONNECTING PORTION BEING JOINED TO THE MIDPORTION AT A FIRST JUNCTION AND SAID MID-PORTION BEING JOINED TO SAID END PORTION AT A SECOND JUNCTION ADJACENT PANELS BEING SECURED TO EACH OTHER BY A HINGED CONNECTION OF THE FIRST JUNCTION OF ONE PANEL TO THE SECOND JUNCTION OF A PRECEDING PANEL, WHEREBY EACH OF SAID MID-PORTIONS EXTENDS PARALLEL TO SAID FRONT SHEET TO FORM A CONTINUOUS SERIES OF INTERCONNECTED PANEL PORTIONS. 